Filmed Deep in the Congo, The Protectors: Walk in the Ranger’s Shoes
Immerses Viewers in the Dangerous Reality of Those Who Risk Their Lives
to Protect Elephants From Poachers

Produced by HERE BE DRAGONS, The Protectors: Walk in the Ranger’s
Shoes premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival Virtual Arcade starting
April 21, followed by a May 1 release on Within

April 19, 2017 12:39 PM Eastern Time

WASHINGTON--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Garamba National Park. In 1980, UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site,
unmatched in its biodiversity. Today, it’s ground zero in the fight to
save the largest population of elephants in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, where rangers are the last line of defense in a race against
extinction at the hands of poachers slaughtering elephants for their
ivory tusks.

“The Protectors is a very important film that not only shines a
light on the rangers, creating empathy for those who risk their lives
day in and day out”

National Geographic Documentary Films takes viewers to the front lines
of Garamba alongside the rangers who face constant danger and even death
while protecting elephants from heavily militarized and incentivized
poachers. Shot entirely in virtual reality and directed by Academy Award
winner Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”) with two-time Emmy nominee
and VR creator Imraan Ismail, The Protectors: Walk in the Ranger’s
Shoes will premiere at Tribeca Immersive’s Virtual Arcade beginning
April 21. Following its Tribeca run, the film will be released
exclusively on Within, the premiere distributor of VR content, on May 1
and on YouTube
and Facebook360
starting May 8. For more information, visit natgeotvpressroom.com.

“National Geographic has been protecting the planet for 129 years and
inspiring others to do the same through text, photos, videos and,
increasingly, VR,” said Rachel Webber, executive vice president of
digital product for National Geographic. “The Protectors
transports audiences to the heart of the ivory conflict, witnessing the
battle between destruction and preservation firsthand.”

“The world’s park rangers are truly unsung heroes, serving as the last
line of defense between endangered wildlife and extinction — for lions,
rhinos, pangolins, etc., and, of course, elephants,” said director
Kathryn Bigelow.

“With the help of National Geographic and African Parks, The
Protectors offers an opportunity to get to know the brave Rangers of
Garamba National Park in the DRC, where poaching elephants for their
ivory tusks is rampant. Their job is a deadly race against time, fraught
with danger, and without them the elephants’ extinction is all but
certain. Every day they put their lives at risk to protect our planet’s
wildlife — but they cannot do it alone. Both the elephants and rangers
need your help.”

Garamba National Park has been managed by African Parks, a conservation
nonprofit organization in collaboration with the Institut Congolais pour
la Conservation de la Nature, since 2005. To learn more about supporting
Garamba’s rangers visit www.african-parks.org, where
100 percent of the funding goes directly to manage the parks and support
the rangers.

“The Protectors is a very important film that not only shines a
light on the rangers, creating empathy for those who risk their lives
day in and day out,” said Andrea Heydlauff, chief marketing officer of
African Parks, “it provides people with a call to action to join the
fight in securing a future for Africa’s elephants. It’s conservation
media at its best.”

The Protectors: Walk in the Ranger’s Shoes is produced for
National Geographic by HERE BE DRAGONS, along with Annapurna Pictures
and African Parks. For HERE BE DRAGONS, executive producers are Annie
Hanlon, Patrick Milling-Smith, Samantha Storr, Matthew Budman, Sammy
Scher and Priya Swaminathan. For National Geographic Channel, Matt
Renner is vice president, production and Tim Pastore is president,
original programming and production.

About National Geographic Documentary Films:

National Geographic Documentary Films is committed to bringing the world
premium, feature documentaries that cover timely, provocative and
globally relevant stories from the very best documentary filmmakers in
the world. National Geographic Documentary Films is a division of
National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between National
Geographic and 21st Century Fox. Furthering knowledge and understanding
of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 129
years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries,
going further for our consumers … and reaching over 730 million people
around the world in 171 countries and 45 languages every month as we do
it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National
Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration,
conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or
nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

About HERE BE DRAGONS:

Co-founded by producer Patrick Milling-Smith and director Chris Milk,
HERE BE DRAGONS is a specialized experience studio that comprises the
world’s leading creative innovators in virtual and augmented reality.
The HERE BE DRAGONS collective utilizes custom-built tools and
technology to craft and curate original immersive experiences. Its
creative team and production talent are industry leaders in short-form
commercials, music videos, feature film, theater, design, photography
and fine arts, with a proven track record in creating stories that
inspire and truly resonate, collectively earning them numerous Emmys,
Cannes Lions, Grand Prixes, Palm d’Ors, AICP, D&AD, One Show, ADC, Tony,
Webby Awards and a Grammy.

About Annapurna Pictures:

Annapurna Pictures, founded by Megan Ellison, focuses on creating
sophisticated, high-quality content that is critically and commercially
conscious while still appealing to a diverse audience. By upholding
Ellison’s vision to put filmmakers and artists first and preserve their
authentic creative voices no matter the genre or medium, in five years
the company has garnered a total of 32 Academy Award
nominations for their projects, including “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Joy,”
“The Master,” “Foxcatcher” and “The Grandmaster.” Ellison is also one of
only four honorees ever to receive two Best Picture nominations in the
same year, with “Her” and “American Hustle,” both earning nods in 2014.
Currently, Annapurna is in postproduction on Kathryn Bigelow’s “Untitled
Detroit Project,” which it will release as its first distribution title
on August 4, 2017. The company is also in production on Paul Thomas
Anderson’s untitled new period film starring Daniel Day-Lewis and is
developing the film adaptation of Maria Semple’s “Where’d You Go,
Bernadette,” to be directed by Richard Linklater. Annapurna’s most
recent projects include Mike Mills’ “20th Century Women,” which was
nominated for two Golden Globes and earned Mills a Best Original
Screenplay Academy Award nomination, as well as “Sausage Party,”
“Wiener-Dog” and “Everybody Wants Some,” with “The Bad Batch”
set for release by Neon in 2017. Bigelow also directed and partnered
with Annapurna on the animated short “Last Days,” about illegal elephant
poaching and the ivory trade.

About African Parks:

African Parks is a non-profit conservation organization that takes on
the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term
management of national parks and protected areas in partnership with
governments and local communities. With the largest counter-poaching
force in Africa, over 850 rangers are on staff, and the most amount of
area under protection for any one NGO in Africa, African Parks manages
10 national parks and protected areas in seven countries covering six 6
million hectares: Malawi, Zambia, Central African Republic, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Chad.
For more information, please visit www.african-parks.org,
or www.outfitaranger.org;
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